Former Indian cricketer Pragyan Ojha has lauded Shimron Hetmyer’s clarity while batting after the latter took Rajasthan Royals (RR) against Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
On Sunday, April 16, the Royals beat the Titans by three wickets to go top of the table with four wins from five matches. Guyanese Hetmyer scored an unbeaten 56 off 26 balls with 2 fours and 5 sixes to win the Man of the Match award.
Ojha, an expert with JioCinema for the IPL, talk about Gujarat’s bowling attack for collapsing under pressure, saying,
“When you bowl second, the dew factor will play a role. The ball will not find the grip as it did in the first innings, so to perfect the length. It was difficult. Even Rashid Khan missed. Either goes a little higher or it’s time for Batte.”
“I think they need to think about this. We have seen the way Mohammad Shami has bowled earlier when the ball doesn’t do anything extra, even if the length is short. Even Hardik said their length could have been better and the RR batsmen grabbed the opportunity with both hands.”
However, Ojha, was all praise for the fight Hetmyer brought to the match. He said,
“The way he used dimensions, knowing that the dew factor was very important. The clarity with which he came to bat is to be commended and he does this for his team. He comes late in the game and scoring runs consistently is not easy but he did it.”
Also, former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee, another expert at JioCinema for IPL, appreciated Samson’s efforts and expressed his desire to see him play more often for India.
“It was really special with Sanju Samson. The way he played tonight, confirmed that he should play a lot more cricket for India. He got the power from somewhere to score 60 off 32 balls under pressure. He is a big man with upper body strength. His innings tonight justified why they crossed the line.”